Thank you McM, and thank you to the fine residents of TNP for honoring me with this award. You know, 44% in a 7 person race is a lot, it shows a commanding preference and those who would point out that that's out of 97 votes cast in a region with thousands, well, they do a disservice to all of you, who are clearly the most dialed-in and dedicated people in the region. Congrats to Nessie for coming in a not-very-close second. It shows that in the art of debate, wielding the banhammer is more often than not the most convincing argument one can make.
If you have ever been called a silver-tongued devil, as I have, you know that winning with words can be tough. And not just because being right all the time carries a heavy burden, which it does. No, convincing people they are wrong is one of the hardest things in the world, and it wins you just as many enemies as it wins you verbal duels. People don't like it when you point out they don't know what they're talking about, because being wrong sucks. But someone has to do it, someone has to light the torch illuminating what is unknown, and dispelling the myths and fanciful notions that are out there. It's the fight of a lifetime, and people like me fighting that good fight day after day can sometimes feel underappreciated. Worse, we can start to feel that no matter how much time and painstaking effort we put into making sure people are put in their place, there will always be ignorant, foolish people who need to be taught a lesson. So it means a lot that we can take time to recognize the immense service and sacrifice of time and carpal tunnel-inducing typing that gets this important job done. I thank you all for acknowledging not only the crucial role that debate winners like me play in this community, but for also tacitly confirming that I am the best of all the big debators in this region and therefore ultimately won all prior and future debates.
Teaching all of you a lesson with my words is more than just one of the great joys of my life, it is a calling. I am fortunate to do what I do best here in TNP, and to be recognized for it, but I don't do it for the accolades and confirmation that I stand above you all with my superior skills. I don't do it for the thanks, because it is largely a thankless role outside of this fine award. I do it for the satisfaction of the silence that ensues when a hard-fought point wins out over nonsense, for the bumbling and fumbled retort, for the sarcastic non-answer and distraction that follows when a point cannot be countered. I do it for the observers hanging on my words and casting aside the words of the pretenders, words that may have swayed those observers had I not been there to set them straight. We are all called to serve, our region, or community, the world. Some provide that service by putting forth discredited and stupid ideas and building them up into massive walls, and some provide that service by being the wrecking balls of knowledge who tear those walls down. For all those swinging balls of truth out there, this award is for you. Swing in that arc of justice, and crumble the words and arguments of lesser speakers. Let no one deny your obvious and unquestionable rightness. I know I am right, and by recognizing me with this award, so are you. Except, of course, for those who voted for someone else, but now you see you were wrong, and that's why I do what I do. Thank you, and you're welcome.
